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Student who was airlifted from Afghanistan goes on holiday to war-torn South Sudan

‘I had heard that things were very chaotic here and wanted to see for myself’


A student who went travelling in Afghanistan and had to be airlifted to safety following the fall of Kabul, is now back on his holidays, this time to South Sudan. “I had heard that things were very chaotic here and wanted to see for myself,” 21-year-old Miles Routledge told The Times.

South Sudan has been consumed by violence and civil war ever since it became an independent country back in 2011. As a result, The UK Foreign Office warn against travel to the country.

Routledge has spent much of his time getting about in capital city Juba where he talks to locals about memes and hands out cash on the street.

Personal safety does not seem to be an issue for Miles. “I grew up in Birmingham so I can say this — it’s very safe and I’ve been walking around at night without anything going wrong,” he said.

He does concede, however, that the sound of gunshots keep him awake at night.

In spite of this, Miles claims he’s having a good time.  “The weather’s lovely, people are very friendly and helpful,” he said. “I don’t feel unsafe, I got offered a tribal wife, I goofed off with locals and got some cheap food. I absolutely recommend South Sudan.

“I can honestly say I prefer it to London in many ways.”

Back in August, Miles arrived in Kabul, Afghanistan, telling The Tab he was unaware of the political turmoil then engulfing the nation. Two days later, The Taliban made it to the country’s capital and Miles was forced into hiding, protected by a number of NATO troops.

After a few near misses, Miles was evacuated on a military plane and was safely returned to the UK.

Miles was a student at Loughborough University studying physics. Since then, he has dropped out and enrolled in an online banking course.

Featured image credit: Twitter: @lordvesconte

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